Performance Improvements

Update Technologies

As with all projects there are plenty of reasons a software development project can go wrong. Whatever the reason, the result is normally that time and money are lost and your business suffers. It is therefore important that the project is rescued quickly and effectively to minimise the disruption being caused.

The common reasons we have found that software projects fail include:

Why Bespoke Software Projects Fail

Why Bespoke Software Projects Fail

The software was supposed to meet a number of business requirements and provide a pre-defined list of features but, upon delivery, proves to be unfit for purpose. This would suggest the developers did not gather your requirements, or understand them, correctly before the project kicked off. It would also suggest that communication from your software development provider was insufficient or inaccurate during the course of the project.

How We Help

We would address this by not only going over your requirements in detail with you but also making sure we have understood the business reasons behind your software requirements. We take this extra step to as we believe that understanding the business reasons helps clarify any grey areas that could otherwise be missed. We believe that it is the lack of understanding of the reasons behind the requirements coupled with poor communication from a software development partner that causes software to be unfit for purpose.

Software development was outsourced in good faith to an offshore provider however the provider returned poor quality software. The poor quality of the software can take a number of forms. Often the user interface (UI) is poor and difficult to navigate resulting in a poor user experience (UX) reducing the efficacy of the software. There may be a number of bugs that have been identified but remain unresolved. The software may simply be unfinished despite being considered complete by the offshore provider. Using an offshore provider can seem a good solution due to the significantly reduced rates offered by many. However, this often turns out not to be the case. We look a bit more into the potential pitfalls of offshoring you software development in a dedicated article.

How We Help

Depending on the problems found in the software delivered by an offshore development partner we can help in a number of ways. We would always conduct a review of the source code of the system to identify any issues. It could be that the back-end of the software is in good shape and we just need to address front-end issues in which case we can work with you to create a new front-end to improve the user experience. If there are a number of bugs present we can search them out, fix them and conduct thorough testing to ensure everything is working as it should. If the software delivered is incomplete we would work with you to make sure you get what you wanted in the first place.

Your software developer was a contractor who has since moved onto a new place of work. Employing an independent contractor can work very well. However problems can arise if changes or updates are required after go-live. Generally a contractor will have moved to a new project and will be unable to work on your behalf anymore.

How We Help

We can step in at this point and take on the project. We will ensure we any changes, updates or integrations are carried out successfully. We can also provide post-implementation support either on an on-going contract basis or ad-hoc as required.

Your current bespoke software provider is either no longer able to meet your needs or you no longer wish to use them. Relationships with third party service providers, whatever that service may be, can break down from time to time. Often this is due to either poor quality work, poor communication or a combination of the two. It could also be that your provider is no longer in business.

How We Help

If your organisation finds themselves in this situation we are able to take on the work on your behalf. Even in the event that source code is unavailable we can still make sure this doesn’t mean you have to start everything from scratch. We can recover source code, create a new repository, new documentation as required and continue with work, making sure you get the service and solutions you require but that have become unavailable via your previous supplier.

We offer this service as part of our source code recovery service however we can also offer it as a service in its own right. You may have access to source code files but they may not be stored securely in a repository. This can make it very hard for your in-house team to work effectively and collaboratively. It could also be that you have a broken repository, inherited from a previous supplier. In both cases we are able to build you a repository that will allow your in-house team and / or Welcm to get your project back on track.

In order to allow your in-house teams or relevant third party providers understand the bespoke software you have we are able to conduct a thorough review of the system and create supporting documentation. These are put together in business English so they can be easily understood by technical and non-technical staff alike. Alongside reports we are able to put together more technical documentation and instructions to support a number of requirements.

This is the solution to a problem that is fairly normal with off-shored projects, although by no means exclusive to them. In the event that your bespoke software provides a poor user experience (UX) but does work correctly, we are able to make anything from minor tweaks to a full re-write of the front-end. A poor user experience from a badly designed front-end can result in poor user uptake and the devaluing of your investment. We can put that right.

If, for whatever reason, you find yourself running unsupported software we can step in and take on the support. We can offer tailored solutions to make sure you get the support you need within the budget you have.

If your hosting solution is provided by a supplier you no longer wish to or are unable to use we can offer tailored solutions to keep your systems running. We only use green web hosting solutions. This means all hosting servers and cooling systems are powered by renewable energy.

Migrating data from an old system to a new one can be a difficult process if your bespoke software does not contain suitable tools to extract its data. With access to your existing system we are able to put the correct tools in place to make sure your move from one system to another goes smoothly with no loss of data.

Poor quality code produces bugs. The effect of bugs in software can be wide ranging; going from slight issues with what you see on your screen (UI) to huge problems with the back-end of your software that makes the system unreliable and / or unusable. We have found and fixed many bugs in third party systems both in the software itself and also in the way the software communicates with other systems. If your bespoke software is not functioning as it should be will be able to get it working correctly.

As systems grow in numbers of users, amount of stored data and complexity, often problems can creep into the system and the performance of the application can suffer and get worse over time. Bespoke software is often critical to a business and therefore needs to be fast and reliable. When your bespoke software begins to creak under the strain of extensive use we are able to improve it. We are able to optimise your application to improve its speed and reliability whilst future proofing it to ensure it scales as your business does.

Older systems are often built using languages that have become or are becoming obsolete. This can cause serious problems as systems the bespoke software relies upon stop supporting the chosen technology. Bespoke software may have also been designed to run on a specific, now out-dated, operating system. For some customers this means keeping hardware dedicated to running the software which can have wide ranging negative effects. If your business has found itself in this situation we can support the existing software and migrate it to new technologies.